


A Night at the Opera

by BigGhost



Series: conkus is the name of this ship now [5]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Professors, Awkward Flirting, First Dates, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-07
Updated: 2018-06-07
Packaged: 2019-05-19 12:29:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14873774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BigGhost/pseuds/BigGhost
Summary: Connor invites Markus out to the opera, and it doesn't go exactly as he'd hoped.





	A Night at the Opera

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr prompt!

Connor took a deep breath.  Okay, he could do this. He could do this, he’s just a coworker, and we’re going as coworkers.  Friends? Was that too pushy? Maybe coworkers was too formal…

He liked Markus.  Ever since coming to the school to teach, after abandoning his career in criminal justice, Connor wondered if he’d made the right decision.  When he’d started his new position, the other teachers had avoided him like the plague. They stepped out of his way in the staff room, didn’t make eye contact for long, and usually only spoke to him in packs.  It made him feel like he was being interrogated.  
  
Then, during class, Markus had come along to scope him out.  Connor had noticed him slip in with the other students immediately, but hoped the other teacher would find what he needed and leave post haste.  Markus didn’t leave right away though. Actually, he sat through the whole class, and even seemed interested. Connor’s stomach clenched when another thought struck him: Markus was here to observe him.  Maybe the school was second guessing their decision of bringing him on, and they had sent Markus to determine if Connor was even worth the class space.

But he wasn't there to do that.  In fact, Markus looked quite like a cat caught in the cream when Connor decided to confront him.  He seemed… flustered, at the very least.

After an awkward, tense first meeting, Connor and Markus began to grow into a gentle friendship.  Connor no longer spent his lunch breaks alone in a silent staff room, pitifully poking at his food, and Markus had some much welcomed company while he painted in his studios on the weekends.

Connor had finally worked up the nerve to ask Markus to the showing of  _ Les Miserables  _ after about twenty minutes of psyching himself up.  He’d never been to a play before, but Markus was very artsy, and plays seemed artsy.  When Markus had agreed, Connor felt an excitement he hadn't felt in a long time.

Connor sighed deeply, hoping that all of his nerves and butterflies went with it, and fought every part of his body that wanted to rip the two tickets in his hands apart.

His breath came out in white puffs.  His nose was red from the cold despite how bundled he was in his scarf and jacket.  He looked around at the people entering the theatre and the ticket line, then at his watch.  Five minutes until the doors close. Maybe Markus had forgotten… Or maybe he’d not intended to show up at all?  Connor sighs and stares at the tickets. This was a stupid idea.

He moved to rip up the tickets when he heard a relieving voice, “Connor!”

Connor turned his head and there was Markus, waving at him from across the street.  He smiled awkwardly and gave him a little wave. Okay, maybe it wasn’t so stupid. Markus seemed happy to see him, at least.  He trotted across the street, his breath coming out in fast clouds before disappearing. “I’m so sorry, I got held up at the train station!” he looked Connor up and down, and suddenly Connor felt more self conscious than before.

Markus’ eyebrows shot up with his smile.  “You look…”

“Put together?” Connor laughed a little at the memory of poor Markus, standing flustered in the doorway while he tried to explain why he felt the need to spy on his coworkers.

Markus sighed and nodded, “Uh, yeah.”

They stood in a thick, awkward silence between them.  The low ambient sound of the people milling about the street was a small comfort in that silence.  Finally, Markus stiffly gestured towards the theatre. “Ahem, um, shall we?”

* * *

 

The line to get in wasn’t terribly busy, and finding their seats wasn’t hard.  It was right in the middle, though, and that made Connor’s skin crawl a little.  Crowds made him guarded on the best days, and sitting through an entire performance right smack in the middle arena?  His stomach dropped at the thought.

He hoped he would be able to sit through the show, at least until the first intermission.  He had never been particularly good at sitting still to watch a show, even one he was deeply invested in.  Typically, he would watch his entertainment at home, TV in the background while he walked around, did worked, cleaned, something to keep him busy.

They sat down and settled in.  Connor had never been in a theatre so big.  It was grand, for lack of better words, and looked like something he’d only ever seen in movies.  Markus looked to be in his element, though. Something about the look on his face told Connor that he had seen his fair share of shows in theatres like this one, shrouded in the dim arena while performers brought to life a story on stage.  “Have you ever been to a show like this before, Professor?” Connor asked.

Markus looked around the room, taking in the towering pillows and intricate carvings along the walls that reached up to the ceiling like vines.  Connor admired how the smile on his face hadn’t left since he’d arrived. He seemed so happy to be there; Connor hoped, in the pit of himself, that it was because he was with him.  “Yes, I used to come to these often with my mentor. Box seats, if you can believe,” he chuckled. Connor nodded and chuckled alongside him, pretending he knew what a “box seat” was.  Markus looked to the huge stage. “Actually, the one we’re seeing is the first one I ever saw with him.” He turned to Connor, and Connor let himself feel inflated under how Markus lit up while looking at him.  “I'm glad that it'll be my first with you as well.”

Connor’s cheeks burned at that.  “Yeah, I'm glad too.”

* * *

 

The play was unbelievably long.  Connor was fine for about the first twenty minutes or so, but at about the half hour mark, his leg quaked with antsiness and fingers twitched with energy.  Typically, he played with a quarter or maybe a toy to occupy himself. But the coin was definitely too loud for the setting, and he hadn’t brought anything else with him.

Connor tried his best to stay still, but it seemed that even Markus noticed his unease.  He leaned over and whispered to Connor, “Are you alright?”

Connor swallowed the lump in his throat, adjusted himself in his seat (again), and nodded.  “Yeah,” he whispered back, “Yeah, I’m fine.”

He was not fine.

He chewed at his lip, wiggled in his seat, anything he could keep from sitting still.

Markus chuckled quietly, and just above his breath, whispered again, “You sure about that?”

Connor sighed as quietly as he could.  This was supposed to be an emotional part of the story on stage, but if he was honest, he wasn’t paying much attention.  His fists opened and closed, wishing he could do something to take up the space in his palms. Suddenly, his hand was enveloped in a warm, solid hold.  He looked down at his hand where Markus had slipped their hands together, fingers gently lacing together. Connor looked up at Markus, who simply smiled at him before turning his attention back to the show.

His fidgeting, as much as it surprised him, calmed down a lot after that.  He instead occupied his hands, taking up most of his concentration, by pressing against Markus’ fingers.  He followed the music on his hands, pushing down gently on Markus’ fingertips like they were the strings of an instrument, or the keys of a piano.  Markus’ thumb absently rubbed against Connor’s hand when his hand wasn’t playing alongside the music. The warmth made Connor’s stomach flutter, and he couldn’t keep the smile off of his face when he squeezed Markus’ hand and he squeezed back.

This… this was nice.

**Author's Note:**

> i hc connor as never being able to sit still for very long. as a detective, he had to walk around a lot and would be able to stand while he worked. but this time around, he wants to impress his cool new art friend~
> 
> come join our discord! you can find the link at sugarbath (dot) tumblr (dot) com! (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡


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